Author: Kanayan Tamar

TWO CANDIDATES PROPOSED AS SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT

Vestnik Kavkaza
Dec 5 2011
Russia

Two candidates were proposed today for the post of the chairman of
the National Assembly – vice Speaker Samvel Nikoyan from the ruling
Republican Party of Armenian and Larisa Alaverdyan, a member of the
opposition faction “Heritage,” News-Armenia reports.

Nikoyan promised to be objective in his work and ensure the normal
operation of Parliament, regardless of the political views of its
members. He also said that he expects political debates to heat on
the eve of the forthcoming parliamentary elections.

For its part, the deputy Alaverdyan said that the National Assembly
must move beyond personal and group interests and protect national
interests.

Elections will be held on Tuesday by secret ballot.

The Centre for Mediterranean, Middle East & Islamic Studies
CEMMIS.edu.gr
Dec 4 2011

Turkey Report 2

ErdoÄ?an’s Apology for the Dersim Massacre

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip ErdoÄ?an, apologized
recently on behalf of the Turkish Republic for the 1937?1939 Dersim
mass killings and stated that the CHP party, which ruled back then,
was responsible for the military operations in Dersim (now Tunceli),
an Alevi/Alawi populated city.

Turkey’s main opposition CHP party leader, Kemal KılıçdaroÄ?lu,
criticized ErdoÄ?an’s comment on Dersim killings at the Assembly Hall
of KozyataÄ?ı Cultural Center of Istanbul’s municipality. The
leader of the CHP stated that the people of Dersim in eastern Turkey would
not allow their pain to be exploited for political reasons by the AKP. Kemal
kılıçdaroÄ?lu, an Alevi himself, paid special attention to this
point because he was born in Dersim. Other leftist parties, such as the
Workers’ Party, criticized this debate as well. They argued that the Dersim
conflict was a battle between feudalism and the young Turkish
Republic. Hence, this apology means for them a step towards ethnic and
religious obscurantism.

However, DoÄ?u Ergil, a political scientist, told the
Hürriyet newspaper that an apology was not enough and that
ErdoÄ?an should address other dark pieces of Turkish history as
well. Thus, the debate should not be limited to the Dersim
killings. Turkey should also apologize for the 1915 Armenian killings
and the September 6?7 1955 Istanbul pogrom that resulted in a mass
exodus of minorities from the country. The liberals applauded this
apologize as a good starting point to review the single party period
and Markar Esanyan, a columnist, evaluated it as a chance for a new
era in Turkish historiography.

for?dersim?killings.html

ve?ortacagdan?ozur?dilemektir.html

2011?11?23

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Redeemable Military Service and Conscientious Objection

Military service is considered the most important public service that
can be fulfilled by a Turkish citizen. Traditionally, Turkish soldiers
are called `Mehmetcik’ which means `the prophet of Islam’ in an
interesting social norm. The changing sociopolitical balances have
forced governments to update the period of military service and offer
the option to soldiers to decrease their military obligations from a
full 12 months period to 21 days by paying a fee. The new bill that
stipulates the exemption from the 21 days basic military service by
paying an amount of money finally passed despite the strong
reservations of the Chief of the General Staff, Necdet Ozel.

According to researches, the majority of the Turkish society is
negative towards the new bill because it gives the chance to wealthy
people to overcome the trouble and dangers of a compulsory military
service while poor people cannot. Thus, the principle of equality does
not apply to the new law. However, both the conservative and the
liberal media supported the bill for different reasons. Conservative
media advocated the idea of establishing a `professional army’ that
might be more effective in fighting terrorism instead of involving the
Turkish Armed Forces which have been burdened with cases such as
`Ergenekon’ and `Balyoz’. A liberal columnist of the Star newspaper,
Ahmet Altan, brought up the issue of `conscientious objection’. Altan
stated that `conscientious objection’ is part of the international law
and that the AKP government has a positive attitude towards it as
well. Finally, the nationalists rejected the new bill. Indeed,
according to the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the core purpose of
the aforementioned reform is the destruction of the Turkish military
forces.

103814?erdogan?on?paid?military?service

2011?11?22

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Tension between Turkey and Syria Increases

The situation in Syria gets increasingly complicated and Turkey could
not remain unaffected by its neighbors. The debates about the future
of the relations of these countries have multiplied from both the
Turkish media and the political parties.

During the last two weeks, the most pressing issue for Turkey’s
foreign affairs was Syria’s increasing support for the PKK. According
to the majority of Turkish newspapers, Syria provided the PKK with
three camps which are located close to eastern Turkey. In addition,
Damascus seems to use those 1000 armed PKK fighters against Syrian
rebels who are protected by Turkey. Therefore the military
capabilities of the PKK became much stronger this winter. The letters
between Abdullah Ocalan and his lawyers, which were seized during the
KCK operation, seem to prove the relationship between Syria and the
organization. Furthermore, the recent attack against Muslim pilgrims
from Turkey in Syria confirmed that their bilateral relations have
seen better days. Hence, according to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, it is not suggested to Turkish citizens to visit Syria.

The ruling AKP as well as some conservatives and liberals considered
the possibility of imposing sanctions on Syria. Indeed, conservative
media such as `Zaman’ as well as the AKP party went as far as to
discuss the possibility of a military intervention in order to
`protect Turkey and regional security’. However, Vice?Prime
Minister Bulent Arınc stated that armed struggle is not an
option and sanctions must be economic and political. Moreover, the
Workers’ Party advocates that sanctions against Syria would lead to a
separation of Turkish society but the pro?Kurdish BDP has not made
any official statement yet.

for?terrorist?pkk.html

6/22/feature?03

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ErdoÄ?an: A Popular yet Controversial Prime Minister

The articles of Time magazine and The Economist about Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan became the most popular subjects during the last
two weeks.

The latest issue of the Time magazine provides details on Erdogan’s
career as well as on the problems of the Turkish democratic
system. Special attention is given to the results of a poll carried
out by the Maryland University according to which Erdogan has been the
most admired leader among the Arabs. The Time argues that Erdogan’s
high popularity is the result of his foreign policy. Indeed, the AKP
has chosen a much more aggressive and popular policy than the ”Zero
Problems with Neigbours” one.

Moreover, the article discusses some growing problems in Turkey such
as the lack of freedom of the press. According to the Time magazine’s
poll, Erdogan takes 22% of the votes and appears to be the fourth most
popular leader in the world but at the same time 65.000 voters rated
him as the least popular leader. This huge difference is a sign of
high polarization in Turkish political life.

The Economist focused on negative advances in the Turkish law system
and especially the 2911 law of the Turkish constitution. The magazine
mentions the rising number of imprisoned activists such as 500 college
students, anti?capitalists and anti?imperialists as well as
thousands of pro Kurdish party supporters and 76 journalists.

Columnists (e.g. Nuray Mert, Yılmaz Türker) and leftists
such as the Turkish Communist Party have also castigated Erdogan for
his policies. The liberals recognize AKP’S success in the economic
field and the foreign policy but find it hard to support the arrests
of students and journalists. Finally, the conservative media insist
that the students and journalists currently in prison pay for their
`terrorist activities’ while the ruling AKP expresses its confidence
to the Turkish courts’ judgment.

,9171,2078021,00.html
,8599,2093090,00.html

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Gather Celebs News Channel
Dec 4 2011

Kim Kardashian Came From Line of ‘Ultra Religious Jumpers’

December 04, 2011 08:55 AM EST

Kim Kardashian is often talking about her homeland of Armenia, where
her great grandparents came from in 1913. But, the odd thing is that
Armenian’s know nothing about the famous reality star. In fact, they
don’t even know who she is.

Of all the places in the world for Kim Kardashian to be a “nobody”
it’s kind of ironic that it happens to be in Armenia.

“Kim Kardashian?” said one cattle farmer, when shown a photo and told
the name of the dark-haired beauty. “She is very beautiful, like the
women in our village – but we’ve never heard of her.”

That’s amazing, when you think of about. Everyone has heard of Kim
Kardashian. She’s famous the world over. But, apparently, in this
little village of only 500 people, Kim is just as famous as the next
female — which isn’t famous at all.

It appears as though Kim’s relatives were ambitious — guess it runs
in the family! — and wanted to lead a good life. So, they moved to
Los Angeles, over 7,000 miles away.

“It’s amazing the family have gone from the ultra religious Jumpers to
Kim Kardashian in such a short period of time,” said Professor Richard
G. Hovannisian, who studies Armenian history.

But, the Armenian’s dont know anything about Kim or the Kardashian’s.
Maybe that is because they are set back in time, living off the land
and leading simple yet fulfilled lives. That doesn’t mean they
wouldn’t like to meet their famous villager, though.

“It’s a big surprise Kim Kardashian is from our village – but we would
love her to come and visit,” said another farmer.

Yes, wouldn’t that be nice? When you think about it, why hasn’t Kim
visited sooner? She talks about her country enough and is constantly
travelling. It seems odd that she hasn’t gone to visit her homeland,
where her relations fled the genocide to make a new life collecting
trash and packing meat.

If she wants a life of obscurity and a chance to get away from all the
drama surrounding her, the reality star only needs to step back into
reality and…go home to Armenia.

Petra News Agency, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
Dec 4 2011

King receives credentials of new ambassadors…

Amman, Dec. 4 (Petra)–His Majesty King Abdullah II on Sunday received
the credentials of 8 newly appointed ambassadors to the Kingdom in a
ceremony at Basman Palace.

They are Bela Jungbbert of Hungary, Bogdan Filip of Romania, Astrid
Harz of Austria, Gamini Rajapakse of Sri Lanka, Alhaji Abdullah Salifu
of Ghana, Arshak Poladian of Armenia, Dainuis Junevicius of Lithuania,
and Mohammad Hassan Al Barghathi of Libya.

The ambassadors laid wreaths on the tombs of Their Majesties the late
King Hussein, the late King Abdullah I and the late King Talal where
they laid wreaths .

The ceremony was attended by Royal Court Chief Riyad Abu Karaki and
Finance Minister and Acting Foreign Minister Umayya Touqan. //Petra//
ON
4/12/2011 – 03:46:33 PM

Courrier International
1 Décembre 2011

TURQUIE;
Sortir du négationnisme

par Ali Bayramoglu, Yeni Safak (Istanbul)

ENCART: En présentant des excuses aux Kurdes alévis pour un massacre
commis en 1937, le Premier ministre Erdogan donne l’espoir aux
Arméniens et aux autres minorités spoliées de voir leurs droits
reconnus.

Le 23 novembre 2011 est une date qu’il faudra marquer d’une pierre
blanche. C’est ce jour-là en effet que, pour la première fois en
Turquie, un Premier ministre a dévoilé au nom de l’Etat, en s’appuyant
sur des archives, une page sombre de notre histoire qui nous fait
honte. Et le plus important, c’est que, en prime, il a demandé pardon
pour cela. Même si cet événement s’inscrit dans un contexte de
politique politicienne – donnant au parti au pouvoir, l’AKP,
l’occasion de mettre le principal parti d’opposition, le CHP, en
difficulté -, on peut néanmoins dire qu’avec cette déclaration un
seuil très important a été franchi.

Chez nous, en Orient, la formation de bon nombre d’Etats-nations s’est
faite sur fond de nettoyage ethnique et religieux, et
d’homogénéisation de la société. Les Etats issus de ce processus
perpétuent d’ailleurs un système fondé sur une politique
négationniste, sur l’oubli et le rejet de tout travail de mémoire.
Dans un tel contexte, ces sociétés se retrouvent à stagner et à avoir
peur. D’autres sociétés, en revanche, parce qu’elles ont placé l’être
humain au centre de leurs valeurs, ont réussi à ouvrir la porte à la
possibilité d’assumer leur passé. Y a-t-il encore quelqu’un chez nous
qui ignore ce qui s’est passé en 1937-1938 dans la région du Dersim
[est de l’Anatolie] ? Selon les documents officiels, 13 000 personnes
y ont été assassinées et 11 000 autres déportées par l’armée, qui
appliquait les ordres d’un gouvernement dont l’objectif n’était autre
alors que l’anéantissement de ce particularisme local. Cette politique
n’était pas une réaction à un quelconque soulèvement local : il
s’agissait d’un massacre planifié dès 1926.

Mais il y a d’autres parts d’ombre dans notre histoire pour lesquelles
nous devrions également demander pardon et qui concernent la période
républicaine [à partir de 1923] : les événements de 1934 qui ont
abouti à l’expulsion des Juifs de Thrace [partie européenne de la
Turquie], l’impôt sur le revenu [varlik vergisi] en 1942
[discriminatoire à l’égard des non- – musulmans], les événements de
septembre 1955 [pogroms visant – principalement les Grecs, les
Arméniens et les Juifs d’Istanbul], la spoliation des biens des Grecs
en 1963, la prison de Diyarbakir en 1980 [où la torture fut
massivement pratiquée] ou encore les exécutions illégales commanditées
par l’Etat pendant les années 1990… Les occasions de se confronter à
un passé douloureux ne manquent donc pas.

La société turque n’ignore pas que ces pages sombres de notre histoire
ne sont pas seulement l’apanage de la période républicaine.
L’incroyable tragédie qui commence à la fin du XIXe siècle et qui
culmine avec un génocide [le génocide arménien] flagrant en 1915
n’a-t-elle pas, de par sa dimension idéologique, rendu possible
l’usage d’une brutalité qui a pu être pratiquée aussi après
l’instauration de la république et qui nous ramène aujourd’hui à cette
époque ? Nous savons désormais ce qui s’est passé, mais nous
persistons à le nier. Souhaitons que les excuses présentées par Tayyip
Erdogan marquent vraiment le début d’une nouvelle ère.

Armenia plans to up engineering production volume to $80 mln by 2015

December 4, 2011 – 15:37 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The development of engineering in the framework of
export-oriented industrial strategy will allow for USD 65-80 mln worth
production volume by 2015, 40-45% export upsurge, increase of jobs to
5600, as well as creation of relevant infrastructures complete with
modern laboratories, according to the head of the standing committee
on Financial-Credit and Budgetary Affairs of the National Assembly.

As of 2010, annual production volume in the sector of engineering
totaled USD 35 mln, with USD 17 mln export volume and 4000 jobs.

At Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)-organized seminar on
export-oriented industrial development strategy, Gagik Minasyan
pointed out Mars factory operations in free economic zone and
Engineering University’s reforming into an international scientific
center as prospective directions.

As Enterprise Incubator Foundation director Bagrat Yengibaryan told
journalists, at present, the IT sector provides 100% income in
engineering through production of precision instruments for the
spheres of telecom, education and aeronautics for export.

On December 4, TUMO center for creative technologies is hosting a
seminar on export-oriented industrial development strategy, with
representatives of government structures, entrepreneurs and
politicians attending.

REVUE DE PRESSE
Quelle est la portée des excuses d’Erdogan au peuple kurde ? Peut-on
envisager le même scénario vis-à-vis des Arméniens ?
Réponse d’Alican Tayla, chercheur associé à l’IRIS, spécialiste de la Turquie

Les excuses du Premier ministre Erdogan n’ont pas été adressées
spécifiquement au peuple kurde. Les massacres de Dersim en 1937-1938
ont concerné les Alévis, qui comptaient en leur sein un très grand
nombre de Kurdes. Il convient de distinguer ces deux minorités : les
Kurdes représentent une minorité ethnique, alors que les Alévis sont
une minorité religieuse au sein de la population majoritairement
sunnite. Ce n’est pas tant le critère ethnique que l’appartenance
religieuse qui fut au centre de ces massacres. De ce fait, les
victimes furent surtout des Alévis. Cette minorité religieuse est
encore la plus représentée en Turquie à l’heure actuelle. On comprend
ainsi mieux pourquoi il ne s’agit pas d’excuses générales au peuple
kurde.

Les massacres de Dersim représentent depuis très longtemps un tabou.
La déclaration d’Erdogan permettrait ainsi d’ouvrir la discussion sur
ce qui s’est réellement déroulé à Dersim. Sans vouloir considérer le
contexte politique actuel, c’est une déclaration qui peut être
qualifiée d’historique.

En tenant compte des circonstances de cette déclaration, on comprend
qu’il ne s’agit pas d’une politique dont il faudrait attendre un
élargissement à des questions comme la question kurde ou le génocide
arménien. C’est un député de Dersim, membre du parti CHP, qui a
soulevé cette question au cours d’une interview. À cette
interrogation, le Premier ministre Erdogan a répondu : « Si l’on peut
parler d’excuses au nom de l’État, dans ce cas-là oui, je peux dire
que je m’excuse. » Cette réponse et les circonstances de l’interview,
montrent qu’il n’y a pas eu véritablement une préparation avec des
conséquences auxquelles il faudrait s’attendre sur le long terme.

Il faut rappeler également que la question du génocide arménien est
bien plus délicate à trancher et à aborder. D’ailleurs Erdogan a dit à
plusieurs reprises il y a quelques années, qu’il n’était pas question
que ce soit de sa part, ou de celle de la Turquie, de s’excuser par
rapport à ce qui s’est passé en 1915.

?article5878

dimanche 4 décembre 2011,
Stéphane ©armenews.com

FEMMES
Le nouveau maire d’Erévan soutient l’Association des jeunes femmes d’Arménie

Hier, Daron Markarian le nouveau maire d’Erévan a rendu visite à
l’exposition-vente organisée par « l’Association des jeunes femmes
d’Arménie » au profit d’`uvres caritatives. L’exposition se tenait
dans le hall de la mairie d’Erévan. Daron Markarian visita chaque
stand et acheta même quelques produits. Des femmes chefs
d’entreprises, des membres des corps diplomatiques d’Erévan ainsi que
d’organisations internationales participaient à l’évènement dont l’un
des objectifs était de développer l’activité culturelle et économique
des femmes d’Arménie, de favoriser l’artisanat d’Erévan et des
régions. Le soutien du développement du rôle des femmes dans
l’économie arménienne était également parmi les objectifs de cette
manifestation. Les bénéfices de ces ventes serviront à financer des
ateliers de travail d’artisanat des femmes dans les régions selon
Lilit Asatrian, la présidente de « l’Association des jeunes femmes
d’Arménie ».

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 4 décembre 2011,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

BOXE
Défaite de Vic Darchinyan face à Anselmo Moreno

La nuit dernière en Californie, un combat opposant l’Arménien Vic
Darchinayan au Panaméen Anselmo Moreno pour le compte de la ceinture
mondiale IBO et WBA des poids super légers s’est terminé à l’avantage
de Moreno. Les trois juges ont donné l’avantage aux points à A.
Moreno. Cette défaite de Vic Darchinyan appelé « Raging Bull » devrait
davantage guider sa carrière vers le total combat, discipline dans
laquelle désire s’engager l’Arménien.

Krikor Amirzayan

dimanche 4 décembre 2011,
Krikor Amirzayan ©armenews.com

news.az, Azerbaijan
Dec 3 2011

Turkey not to open border unless Armenia stops occupation of Azerbaijani lands
Sat 03 December 2011 07:24 GMT | 9:24 Local Time

Turkey has closed its borders with Armenia due to occupation of
Azerbaijani lands and the borders won’t open unless the occupation
ends.

According to Turkish mass media, the statement came from deputy
chairman of the ruling party of Justice and Development Haluk Ipek,
speaking at the conference ‘Azerbaijani-Turkish ties in 20 years of
independence.

According to Ipek, the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations have been stable
and brotherly throughout history.

“And now these relations are growing and we have to extend them to
future generations”, he said.

In turn, MP Ganira Pashayeva said Azerbaijan and Turkey have no
problems and these relations have a stable foundation.

The conference is attended by deputies of parliaments, representatives
of public and scientific circles of the two countries.

1news.az